This invention relates to improvements in the knitting of bifurcated lower body garments by continuous unidirectional rotary knitting from one end of the garmet blank to the other end. In the case of two-legged garments, such as tights, leotards, panty hose, body stockings and the like, the garmet is rotary knit throughout, beginning with the tip of the toe of one leg and ending with the tip of the toe of the other leg, in the manner disclosed in Johnson U.S. Pat. No. Re. 27,886. The invention also is applicable to the continuous unidirectional rotary knitting of legless bifurcated garments, such as briefs, panties, panty girdles, bathing suits and the like which embody the same construction as the pants portion of the two-legged garments. The garments include waist openings having elasticated waistbands, and are provided with pants which have a greater number of courses in the upper portion than in their crotch portion.
In the known methods of knitting bifurcated lower body garments of this general type, an opening in the tubular fabric may be formed during knitting of the garment blank on the knitting machine. Following removal of the tubular blank from the machine, a separate waistband then is added to the opening, usually by sewing, to complete the waist portion of the garment.
The aforesaid method of applying the waistband to the garment, following its removal from the knitting machine, is disadvantageous. The application of the separate waistband must be performed with a high degree of accuracy in order to ensure a proper fitting garment. The separate application of a waistband to the garment requires the cutting away and rejection of material or fabric from the garment in the waist area. If excessive, this causes an unsatisfactory reduction in the length of the article, whereas the cutting away of too small a quantity of reject material or fabric may cause excessive slackening of the knitted garment when worn.